


Getting sentimental

by MoreThingsDreamtof



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Old Age, might feature an appearance of a bon jovi song, nursing home, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 13:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1120208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoreThingsDreamtof/pseuds/MoreThingsDreamtof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mr. Winchester is one of Holly's favorite patients on the floor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting sentimental

"Holly?" Holly's supervisor caught her attention as Holly exited her patient's room, having just finished giving Mrs. McElroy her meds. "Holly, could you go check on Mr. Winchester in 83b?"  
"No problem, Karen." Holly made her way down the hall, concern washing over her. Of all the patient's on her floor, Mr. Winchester was one of her favorites. Granted she hadn't been working at this particular nursing home for that long but he was kind, and almost never complained about anything. "I've had worse" was his usual response if there was anything wrong- that or, "Other people have it worse". He didn't talk much about himself though- "I've had worse" was pretty much the only hint of he ever gave about his last seventy some years of life. Holly didn't know if he was married or had a family- certainly he had no visitors but the sad truth was that a few of her other patients had none either. Most of the time, a brief visit on mother's day or a birthday was the only indication that the residents on this floor had anyone who belonged to them.  
Already halfway down the hall, Holly could see that the door to 83b- the last room on the floor, nearest to the stairs- was partially open. As she neared, Holly could hear strains of classic music coming from his room. I drive all night just to get back home it was a song her grandmother had loved and would sing along to while she worked, Holly remembered fondly. She knocked once at the door.  
"Mr. Winchester?" she asked tentatively, peeking inside. Though the door was open, she wanted to give him as much privacy as possible in case he was in some compromising position. There was a loud sniff from inside and a quiet, "Come in."  
Mr. Winchester was seated in the chair in the corner, a book open in his lap. He wiped hurriedly at his eyes with an arthritic hand as Holly came in.  
"Is something wrong? Karen wanted me to check on you," she asked, coming fully into the room. She quickly ran through the male CNAs she'd seen standing around the ward- Mr. Winchester was still a very tall man and if he was in pain or needed to be moved she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it herself.  
"No," Mr. Winchester assured her, though his eyes were still reddened. "I was just wondering-" his eyes cut to the radio which was sitting on his nightstand. Holly glanced over as well as the singer belted out I'm wanted- wanted- dead or alive. "Could you change the station?"  
"Not a fan of the classics?" Holly asked, trying to tread carefully.  
"Just not this one," her patient said. Holly looked over at him, concern on her face, but he shook his head. "I'm just-" he said self deprecatingly, not bothering to finish his sentence.  
"Hey, no worries," she said fiddling with the dial. "Anything specific you want on? there's a jazz station here that I know's pretty popular." Mr. Winchester huffed a laugh.  
"Now I know I've gotten old," he said, but his tone wasn't offended. "maybe just the news?" With a bit of searching around, Holly located a news station that wasn't playing a commercial and turned back. "Anything else I can get you?"  
Mr. Winchester shook his head, white hair brushing his shoulders. "I'm good, thanks."  
"What're you reading?" Holly asks, leaning against the nightstand. She had a few minutes before she needed to get back to work, and talking to her patients was her favorite part of her job. Plus, though he never complained, she always thought Mr. Winchester looked sort of lonely.  
He held up the un-jacketed book so Holly could read the spine. "A Short History of Nearly Everything? Well that about covers it," she laughed. He smiled.  
"It's mostly about natural science," he explained. "It's an old book but then," he shrugged. "I'm an old man."  
"When was it written?" Holly asked.  
"2003," he said. Holly whistled appreciatively. "I read it first in when I was in college."  
"Where'd you go to college?" Holly asked.  
"Stanford University," he said, "but not for very long."  
"You dropped out?" she asked, and he raised his eyebrows in a nodding kind of way. "What were you going for- if you don't mind me asking?"  
"I was pre-law."  
Holly nodded, remembering that he must have been in college in the early 2000s. "You don't see that many lawyers around anymore." Most people nowadays went into medical or business.  
Mr. Winchester shrugged. "Things come and go like that." he said. " In a few years, less people might go into medicine if they see the market open up for law again."  
Holly shrugged, "I don't know." She had had some trouble finding a job but, "I don't think medicine will ever really go out of style. People still need to be saved," she said. "and taken care of." Mr. Winchester's hazel eyes found her face, his expression thoughtful.  
"What?" she asked, slightly uncomfortable. His face was wistful and sad.  
"Nothing," he said, "for a second there you reminded me of someone."  
"Sorry," she said, smiling, but Mr. Winchester shook his head.  
"No don't apologize."  
"You want to talk about them?" Holly asked sympathetically "or should I stop bothering you?"  
"You're not bothering me," he assured her. "No, I'd like that." He smiled sadly, dimples appearing in the lines around his mouth. "Maybe the song's making me sentimental," he said.  
"Dead or alive?" Holly asked, nonplussed.  
"Pretty much the story of my life," he laughed, an old joke that he'd once shared with someone else.  
"Okay," Holly said, settling in. "I'd love to hear it."


End file.
